Raw, Real, and Heartbreaking: Sex and Love in Orange Is the New Black

Most TV representations of lesbian relationships are laughably unrealistic or shot with the male gaze, well, firmly in mind. Over its two seasons, Orange Is the New Black, set as it is in a women’s prison, has flirted with all the old women-behind-bars stereotypes just long enough to flip them on their backs.

This video—which contains MAJOR SPOILERS from the entire second season, graphic sexual imagery, and adult language—celebrates the show’s funny, messy, and heartbreakingly real depiction of ladies helping each other get off and, more important, get on, while serving time.

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June Thomas is a Slateculture critic and editor of Outward, Slate’s LGBTQ section.

Joel Fernando is an underground filmmaker and experimental audio/visual communicator based in New York City. Email him at Hello@JoelFernando.com or follow him on Instagram.